Councilman Dave Haas Honored for Service on Town Council

The town council honored Councilman Dave Haas with a resolution for his years of service on the Westfield Town Council during his last council meeting on Tuesday evening.

Members of the public also addressed Haas and his service to the town.

Haas lost to Mayor Andy Skibitsky in the November mayoral election. In 2014, newly elected David Oliveira will take Haas’ place on the council.

Mayor Andy Skibitsky presented Haas with a resolution for his years of service. Skibitsky read the resolution, which thanked Haas for faithfully serving the council from 2003 to 2013.

In addition to sitting on the council, Haas served as a member of many of the town’s committees.

“Mr. Haas unselfishly sacrificed his time to address the needs of residents of the third ward,” Skibitsky read.

Skibitsky also commended Haas for demonstrating focus and teamwork.

“During his term on town council he earned the gratitude of his constituents,” he added.

 Members of the public also took to the microphone to thank Haas for all that he has done while repressing the third ward and the overall town while on council.

Third ward resident, Karen Egert, was the first to address Haas.

“Thank you for representing our third ward so honorably,” she said.

Egert added that since she moved to Westfield, Haas has been very responsive to the needs of the citizens of the third ward.

Resident Adina Toescu-Enculescu praised councilman Haas for his class and concern over the years.

“I would like to thank Mr. Haas for being such a nice concerning councilman,” she said. “He never said one negative word about one of you, which shows integrity and
shows class.”

Janice Siegel, Chairperson of the Westfield Democratic Committee, also addressed Haas’ service on the council and how, over the years, she was able to learn how much of a hardworking person he is.

“He puts out a 100%,” she said. “He is a person with great intellect who asks excellent questions. I think this council wills sorely miss that contribution Dave has made.”

Resident Greg Kasko also thanked Haas for his service and explained although they may have disagreed at times, Haas always took the time to answer his questions and emails.

Lastly, Haas addressed the council and public to thank for the kind words.

“I’d like to thank the residents of the third ward that allowed me to serve them,” he said. “I found the residents to be extremely warm to me and very nice to work with and represent.”

He added that he would also like to thank the people he served with.

“We don’t always agree on every issue,” he said. “It’s important to have issues debated and discussed in public.”

Haas also thanked his wife and family and said he was looking forward to spending more time with them.

Members of the public gave Haas a standing ovation before the council returned to usual business.